1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a rotatable module and a supporting mechanism using the same, and particularly to a supporting mechanism employed in an electronic device, such as a liquid crystal display.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD) device is prevalent in society. An important feature of the LCD is its flexibility to be oriented in various orientations. The LCD is usually rotatable via a rotatable module. A typical rotatable module includes a supporting member, a connecting member, a pivotal shaft, a frame, a rotating washer, a stationary washer, and a resilient member. The connecting member connects the supporting member. The LCD is fixed on the frame and the frame is fixed on the connecting member. The rotating washer defines a plurality of depressions, and the stationary washer forms a plurality of protrusions to engage with the depressions. The pivotal shaft includes a shaft portion and a connecting portion connecting with the shaft portion. The connecting member is non-rotatably connected with the connecting portion. The stationary washer is non-rotatably fixed on the shaft portion, and the rotating washer is rotatably sleeved on the shaft portion in such a manner that the protrusions of the rotating washer face the grooves of the stationary washer. The resilient member provides an axial force so that the protrusions of the rotating washer are inserted into the grooves of the stationary washer, thereby allowing movement of the frame relative to the supporting member when a moderate force is applied, and also allows the frame to be stably maintained in a desired position relative to the supporting member.
However, the grooves of the stationary washer are formed by a punching process. A groove with a relatively large depth typically has metallic material flowing to portions of the washer adjacent to the groove during forming. As a result, a dimension of the stationary washer changes, making it difficult for the protrusions to engage in the grooves. But, if a depth of the grooves is relatively small, the frictional force between the stationary washer and the rotating stationary washer is also small, and the protrusions easily slide out of the grooves, resulting in a poor mechanical reliability.
Therefore, a new rotatable module and a supporting mechanism using the same is desired to overcome the above-described shortcomings.